Neuroscientific and Psychological Approaches to Incentives: Commonality and Multifaceted Views

• In Event: Motivation and Learning: What Is Provocative and/or Novel?

Abstract

Research on neuroscience posits that intrinsic and extrinsic incentives involve a single, common psychological process, providing a “commonality view” of motivation; however, research in psychology has made a strong distinction between these two types of incentives (“multifaceted view” on motivation). Figure 1 presents the schematic picture of these two different views. Indeed, neuroscientific work has shown that all types of rewards, including both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards, are processed in the common brain network (reward network), indicating a common single mechanism to produce motivated behavior. On the other hand, empirical work in psychology has shown that extrinsic incentives can undermine intrinsic motivation (“undermining effect”) and that different types of motivation predict different outcomes, indicating that qualitatively different mechanisms underlie different types of motivation. Although these two different views are not necessarily contradictory, I argue that these meta-theoretical views have biased and prevented our comprehensive understanding of motivation and its relations to learning. I will suggest how these two different perspectives can inform each other, contributing to a broader understanding of human motivation and learning. The examples to be raised include the effects of reward on learning, people’s preference for effortful challenge, and the value and cost of negative feedback in motivation. The presentation will underscore the vital importance of cross-disciplinary work on motivation in future studies.

Author

• Kou Murayama, The University of Reading